Sioux Falls, S.D. - The shocking end to an unpredictable presidential election is starting to fade and the reality of a Donald Trump presidency is starting to set in.
The Republican laid out a bold vision for America on the campaign trail, but usually didn't get specific about how he planned to make his big plans become reality.
We expect to hear a lot more about an ambitious first 100 days in office for President Trump with an agenda that reportedly includes repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, building the wall along our Mexican border, and halting the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States.
Trump also said in his victory speech early Wednesday morning that he'd focus on building infrastructure and taking better care of our veterans. Another big task for Trump and maybe the most difficult one of them all, uniting a deeply divided country and a fractured Republican Party.
These are just some of the domestic issues the new president and republican-controlled congress will face. They also inherit a growing terrorist group that's spreading across the Middle East, a humanitarian crisis in Syria, and a Russian government that gets seemingly more aggressive with each passing day.
It would be a tough set of circumstances for any president to walk into, much less one with no prior foreign relations or governing experience.
Trump has promised to surround himself with some of the smartest and best generals in the world and Wednesday one of generals that served the Bush administration well was in Sioux Falls to speak at the annual law enforcement appreciation dinner.
And he has some advice for the new president that he can use on day one.
David Petraeus took a moment to discuss how Donald Trump could move forward to address national security.
“Now it’s time for Americans to bind the wounds of division.”
Those were the words Donald Trump spoke to America for the first time as the President Elect.
And General David Petraeus says that was the right move to make.
“As he stated in his very early morning acceptance speech this morning, he wants to be the president for all Americans, that's absolutely the right message and that's exactly where he should start,” Petraeus said.
Trump has taken a firm stand against what he calls "Islamic extremists".
Petraeus talked about combating ISIS and stressed the importance of building relationships with Muslim partners.
“We need to strengthen and to shore up the relationships that we have with for example the gulf states, the great energy producers of the world, with the other important Islamic countries of the world so that we can go forward against this in a unified fashion,” he explained.
Petraeus says he expects Trump and his staff to re-examine what the country is doing to defeat ISIS.
“There is momentum I think right now in Iraq, how can we capitalize on that, how can we accelerate that particular process, and I’m sure that my old colleagues in uniform will have some good thoughts for him, some good options for him,” Petraeus said.
The General said Trump has the right idea when it comes to establishing fair trade for the US and the president-elect will have some tough questions to answer.
“How can you assure that the trade is fair, that we have the opportunities that we should absolutely welcome because we can compete with anybody in the world, but without ending up in a trade war,” he asked.
Petraeus says one advantage Trump has is an opportunity to get legislation passed to ensure these suggestions can happen.
The Republican Party has control of both the US House and Senate.
Petraeus says this might also help get congress out of the gridlock so many of his supporters are frustrated with.
In the spirit of bringing the country together, Petraeus says the first bills the president-elect works to pass in congress should be something lawmakers on both side of the aisle can get behind.
